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oceanspray5 · 3 years

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UMBRELLAS VS SPARROWS PARALLELS AND CONTRASTS

So I already wrote this post but then tumblr decided to eat it and so I'm rewriting it but I am incredibly intrigued by the contrasts between the Sparrow kids and the Umbrella Kids cuz they're VERY striking.

No. 1 - Luther vs Marcus

Luther is NOT a good leader. He's a follower: specifically Reginald's follower. He is very insecure and any semblance of confidence he has is misplaced because his family does not listen to his authority mostly because he is the least experienced out of all of them and hence makes terrible decisions. The actual leader of the Umbrellas is Five or Allison even if Luther likes to pretend his status as Number One gives him any authority over his family.

Luther is also the cause of his family falling apart in S1 and had the most hand in Vanya resorting to going feral and causing the world to implode. Furthermore, Luther doesn't LISTEN to his family which further pushes them apart because for every good leader, communication is important to gain your Team's trust.

In comparison, Marcus is his direct opposite. From what we see in the description, he keeps the family together where Luther tore his apart. He's charming and confident and a good leader and it may imply that he is a good listener if he is also a good leader. His power seems to relate to a "Colossus" because I definitely believe the Sparrows powers are hidden in these descriptions but where Luther resents his Giant appearance due to what Reginald did to him, Marcus might naturally have that power to begin with which means he is confident in it as well, unlike Luther who resents his grotesque appearance and the additional strength it brings.

In essence: we know that Luther's priority is his duty but Marcus' priority is his family which means he probably puts them above duty which is a pretty huge difference which I'll explain more in the next section.

No. 2 - Diego vs Sparrow!Ben

This is very interesting because Diego and Umbrella!Ben, as far as we know, were fair opposites however Sparrow!Ben is definitely not unlike Umbrella!Ben at his core.

The Diego we know is impulsive and hyperactive. Sparrow!Ben is described as pragmatic and scheming along with hyper vigilant. He thinks before he acts (which is like Umbrella Ben) and appears is tactical and cunning verses Diego's "act first, deal with consequences later".

The rivalry aspect is also very interesting to me. Diego and Luther always fought equally for the upper hand. Diego didn't respect Luther's authority and Luther didn't humor Diego either. Their rivalry is two sided. It's too soon to say and I may be reaching, but I think Sparrow Ben and Marcus' rivalry may be one-sided and if that is the case then it changes dynamics significantly.

If Marcus is wiser than Luther, he'd probably give Sparrow!Ben the opportunity to act as Leader (or allow him to think he is). He's defense while Sparrow Ben is offense (which would make sense also because its Sparrow Ben who approaches the Umbrellas and not Marcus who is Number One). Sparrow Ben may possibly resent this because his description strongly implies a rivalry but unlike Luther, Marcus' priority is not his own status of leadership and duty but his family and so that would dictate he tolerate Sparrow Ben even when he's fighting him for no reason.

Just this minor shift in a two sided to one sided rivalry also changes the dynamics between Number One and Number Two significantly.

No. 3 - Allison vs Fei

Allison and Fei are easily very similar in that they may be the smartest person in the room but Allison hesitates because of her experience with her powers. Fei "won't stop until she gets the job done" which implies she does not feel any fear or hesitation. To her, the ends justify the means unlike Allison who has lost too much to justify using her powers for no reason.

Also Allison's powers are auditory and Fei "seeing the world in a different way" gives me the impression of her powers being optical. My guess is Fei works with illusions because both are a form of manipulating people.

As a side not, the quote "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil" comes to mind when contrasting these two. While Allison cannot in good conscience manipulate the ones she loves, who's to say Fei has any reservations about it?

No. 4 - Klaus vs Alphonso

This is a little less clear but I strongly believe that the distinction between Alphonso and Klaus lies regarding how they deal with their trauma.

Alphonso "bears his scars proudly" which may be a result of whatever powers he has. He kicks back with pizza and a couple of beers which are pretty normal habits. Contrast this to Klaus who drowns out any sign and semblance of his powers with drugs and alcohol and tries to forget they exist the best that he can. He hides them even from himself where Alphonso doesn't feel the need to.

Also Klaus, as far as we have seen, has no hands on role during the Hargreeves crime fighting even when they were kids. He may have had training but we never see him use it. Comparatively, Alphonso is described as a direct combatant. Alphonso apparently also enjoys berating his enemies while with Klaus? He's just chilling no matter the situation.

Finally, Alphonso's sense of humor is said to be "biting" which is very different from Klaus. Klaus has a sharp and blunt sense of humor as well but it is never malicious. I would describe Diego's sense of humor as "biting" because he does sometimes goes to far to the point of cruelty but the one thing we can all agree about Klaus is that he never intentionally harms using his words. Even if he snaps, he apologizes or adds a "said with love" at the end so as not to offend.

No. 5 - Five vs Sloane

Hoo boy do I love this one!

Any and all dreams Five had died in the apocalypse. There his one and only goal became to save his family and the world from the apocalypse. His only romantic relationship has been with a mannequin and that is not the healthiest (or sanest) type of relationship.

Five's family is what grounds him and gives him purpose. His power is Teleportation and Time Travel/Time Manipulation which means he can literally travel the world at an instance but that's not exactly his priority after spending so long alone.

Sloane is his direct opposite in that she has dreams and desires and feels stifled by her family despite her love for them. Five's family gives him purpose but Sloane's family infringes upon her individuality.

Her power is harder to guess but I do feel it's a very self contained power that she can use but not in a way that can give her escape. Someone suggested she might have Levitation or Flight and I do believe that can work because like Five's power, it gives her autonomy and movement but definitely not enough that she can leave her family behind and do as she desired the way Five did with his even if it was a mistake.

No. 6 - Umbrella!Ben vs Jayme

The Ben we all know and love was afraid of his power and afraid of being alone. He stayed by Klaus' side even in death and hated the ability he was forced to use. He was so happy just to get a hug from his brother and sister (cries).

Jayme is opposite in the sense that she seems to be an intentional loner. The fact that she has a "snarl you want to avoid at all costs" gives me the impression that she will never hesitate to use her power. She revels in it and that she does not fear it at all.

In the most concise way possible, the difference between Umbrella Ben and Jayme regarding their powers is that: Ben will avoid YOU but YOU should avoid Jayme.

Furthermore, the fact that Jayme's snarl is so threatening has me thinking it has something to do with her power. Maybe something akin to Medusa?

Finally, Ben is smart. We know this. But we also know that he's not the type to use knowledge as a weapon. Jayme's "smart and sharp as a knife" descriptor reminds me of Five in that she WILL use any knowledge she has against you but unlike Five, her morals are debatable because Five has humanity even with how he uses the knowledge he has. We need more info on Jayme before any definitive deduction can be made of how far she will go with what information she can glean but it's safe to say, she definitely doesn't use what she knows passively the way Ben did.

No. 7 - Vanya vs Christopher

Now the most painful comparison is obviously that Christopher, being a CUBE, is still treated by the Sparrows a sibling where Vanya was treated as less despite being human but there's more to the comparison than just the obvious.

Christopher's powers seem as intense and terrifying as Vanya's but also: He's described as "trustworthy and loyal". This is a VERY important contrast because Vanya literally sold her siblings and their lives and traumas in the form of a book and while she may have been justified in doing so, it wins her absolutely no awards in the Loyalty and Trust departments.

Anyway that's what I got. These are all mainly guesswork and my interpretations and analysis is based solely off what we currently know so I may be majorly off but I definitely can't wait to learn more about these new characters but also about what other people think about the Umbrellas vs Sparrows parallels.

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